WWE WrestleMania XXIX: Divas Title Needed Trish Stratus to Make Card

WrestleMania 29 is a pretty full match card, but two titles are still missing from the ranks. Antonio Cesaro and his United States Championship may still have a chance as the champ may be occupied with some rumors coming up prior to the show this weekend. One championship that seems to be out of luck is the Divas Championship, currently held by Kaitlyn.

On a year where Trish Stratus, perhaps the greatest wrestling female in WWE's modern era, gets inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, there are no women wrestling for a championship to go down the road she helped to pave.

In fact, it feels like Trish Stratus is almost necessary for a Divas match to be on the card somehow. Whether or not it is possible is a whole other story, but it just feels like WWE hasn't been able to generate excitement in the Divas Championship or the Divas division either.

The Divas Championship didn't even exist when Trish was wrestling in WWE, but it shows the steps that have been taken because of women like Stratus. Previously, the women's division had been deactivated, only to be revived during the Attitude Era. Stratus emerged from being a model and a valet to a respected wrestler in the ring. Since that has been the common path for many of the current crop of Divas, it sure seems like Trish Stratus is a role model to the current Diva roster.

Since the Divas Championship was born in July 2008, 14 different Divas have held the title. Only six of those Divas are on the current roster, including both Brie and Nikki Bella, who only returned to the company just a few weeks ago.

The Bellas are in a match on the WrestleMania card, but not the champion of all the Divas. This sounds wrong, but the division as a whole hasn't done much of anything to merit a championship match. Aside from flirting with Cody Rhodes and getting mauled backstage by AJ, Kaitlyn hasn't even been noticeable on WWE programming as of late.

The match between Kaitlyn and AJ could happen this Sunday at WrestleMania 29 and could even be squeezed in at the last minute possibly. It would show a rivalry between two Divas that came up through NXT together as friends and allies, only to see AJ's success and popularity overshadow Kaitlyn, who won the NXT season. AJ's unbalanced attitude would come out in altercations between the two.

AJ is currently aligned with Big E Langston and Dolph Ziggler, who have the chance to become WWE Tag Team champions after this Sunday. There's also the outside chance that Ziggler could use his Money in the Bank briefcase to leave WrestleMania as the World Heavyweight champion. If you bring a Divas Championship match into play, there could be three titles among the trio following WrestleMania.

That outside chance of dominance isn't on the radar for WWE to try and promote. In fact, downplaying Ziggler as a whole seems to be part of the plan. WWE wants Ziggler to not be the center of attention to try and shock the world for when he does cash in Money in the Bank. AJ would only bring attention to Ziggler and WWE seems set in its ways to not ruin another Ziggler world title reign.

AJ is a native of nearby Union City, NJ, just miles away from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford. Perhaps there is a fear that the hometown girl would be cheered against Kaitlyn, whom WWE wishes could be its top face Diva today. Not even Trish Stratus as a special enforcer or a special referee would likely take away from the hometown cheers AJ could be getting.

It just seems like a shame that, on a weekend where Trish Stratus and the Divas of WWE get a special recognition, there isn't a way to celebrate where the division is today. The greatest advances of the past year in the Divas title chase disappeared when Eve Torres decided to move on from WWE.

Trish was one of the women responsible for meaningful WrestleMania matches for the women's championship. Now, the division seems as lively as it was right before getting the division deactivated.

The Divas division needs help in the worst way. If bringing the Bella Twins actually brought females onto the WrestleMania card at all, it isn't a stretch to suggest a legendary Diva, who has every right to be around for WrestleMania this year, to get involved somehow and try to rub off some of her popularity onto the rest of the roster. Unless the preference is to have the Divas come out to dance while Diddy sings a song, there doesn't seem to be much use for the Divas at WrestleMania 29.

I would love for the event to prove me wrong, but there's just not enough evidence to believe that. Tonight, Trish Stratus will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a trailblazer for women in WWE, only to see that few women have tried to walk down the path Stratus laid out for them.